Cleveland Browns defensive end Jared Verse said Thursday that he recently met with the team's psychiatrist in an effort to move past a season-long slump in which he has failed to record a sack.
Verse, the 2024 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and a two-time Pro Bowler with the Los Angeles Rams, came to Cleveland in the blockbuster trade that sent two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to Los Angeles. Through his first nine games with the Browns, he has yet to bring down a quarterback. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he is one of only three players in the league with at least 200 pass-rush snaps this season and no sacks to show for them.
Verse said the problem is in his head, not his body. "I think it was definitely a mental block," he said. "I train my body every day to push myself to the limits of what I'm physically capable of doing. So I don't think it was any issue with my body, but I think I've taken the steps to figure out what it was after meeting with a couple people and everything like that."
The drought marks a sharp turn from Verse's first two NFL seasons, when his 99 pressures trailed only Micah Parsons and Garrett across the league. His underlying numbers this year have fallen well below his career norms. Per ESPN Analytics and NFL Next Gen Stats, his pressure rate of 3.4% ranks 180th among 199 qualifying players, while his edge pass-rush win rate of 11.2% sits 55th out of 56 qualifiers.
"I haven't played well at all this season," Verse said. "I think I've taken a little bit of time looking at me, at what I could do better, because I think [the defensive line] goes how I go. That's my mindset in anything I do."
Browns coach Todd Monken said last week that he is not worried about his star pass rusher. "I think it's too early to say anything," Monken said. "I love the way Jared works every day since he's come here, just like all of our guys; he loves to work. He likes being on the field and practicing."
Monken attributed the slow start partly to the adjustment from the Rams' scheme. "I think it's a matter of adapting to our style," he said, noting that some things "aren't as similar to what he was used to doing with the Rams and the attack style. And I think it's just a matter of time before he really gets comfortable in what we're doing defensively."
The coach also pushed back on measuring Verse against the man he was traded for. "It's unfair to compare him to Myles Garrett. Myles is in an elite category of his own. But we just need Jared to be the best version of Jared," Monken said, adding that playing with leads and forcing opponents to throw will help Verse's sacks "start to pile up."
